Ian Buxton's Bat

We thought we’d never get autos in 96 so booked wedding ‘to be back in time for the playoffs’ Received promotion new by fax. Watched 3 playoff defeats in the flesh. Watched playoff victory in the pub. Today is the day…..promotion in the flesh. It’s happening. Awake at 6 like the most excited child on Christmas Day. It’s happening…..I’m feeling super emotional…..could well be my first tears of joy since the birth of the junior bats.

Watched his first game - never been so happy after a 5-0 or 5-1 thrashing. Still have my "Igor says Idemo Gore" ("we're going up" in Croatian) T-shirt from the Ramtique........choices, choices....it's that or the '96 Puma promotion shirt tomorrow 🤔

I'm not a fan of pitch invasions - and I'm not being the fun police here, quite the opposite. As has been pointed out, it risks cancellation of laps of honour, presentations and a chance to actually see the players celebrate. I'd rather watch PW start the bounce with an ecstatic squad with him than watch 22 knackered footballers run for their life towards the tunnel. There is generally some numpty who assaults an opposing player - which is utterly cringeworthy. It's easy to fix. EFL says non-negotiable 20 point deduction for mass pitch invasions like they apply a non-negotiable deduction for going into admin - and they just wouldn't happen. I don't believe there is any realistic chance of a points deduction if there's a pitch invasion tomorrow but, if the EFL are genuinely concerned about player safety, they should bring in some rule for future seasons.

Scores based on what have they contributed so far, relative to their maximum potential contribution since signing......not just on how good I think they are........or what they may contribute in future. A lot of the non-contribution is a result of injury - we could have signed Mbappe and he could have got injured after 1 game and in my book that would have made him a 1/10 Summer window: Curtis Nelson...9/10.....couple of iffy games early on and then magnificent. Always fit Callum Elder.....3/10......often injured.....poor in early games.....very promising in later games.....much higher hopes for next season Joe Ward.....4/10........really like him, season badly affected by injury. Some costly pens against but coming very good before latest injury Sonny Bradley....5/10...awful start, slow re-integration but coming good. Always fit Josh Vickers......5/10.....good back-up. Harsh to give a 5 but he's hardly played. Kane Wilson.....7.5/10.....completely smashed my expectations after a poor start (v Blackpool?). Always fit Martyn Waghorn.....4/10.......10/10 v Posh away, injured then not regained any sort of form Conor Washington....4/10.....lively, committed but big injury lay-off Tyrese Fornah......2/10.......probably a good player in there but clearly not PW's cup of tea so not contributed much Elliot Embleton......1/10......almost N/A because of injury Ryan Nyambe........4.5/10....best defensive full back in the league when not injured or at Afcon Tyreece John-Jules....2/10......classy touches and a goal at PV but not fit enough for long enough Winter: Ebou Adams.....9/10.....Best new signing of the season. Always fit Dwight Gayle.....5/10.....if he'd stayed fit I'm sure I'd have given him an 8 or 9 and we'd already be up Corey Blackett-Taylor.....2/10.....genuinely hope he comes good and has shown glimpses of what he can do Max Bird*.....5/10.....been injured a lot since 'coming back' on loan Extensions: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.....7.5/10.....A bit down on form since contract extension but still fantastic. Always fit Eiran Cashin....9/10......Excellent. Always fit. Best signing of the season. Great player or megabucks for the club next season. Jake Rooney.....N/A.....if he can live with the pace of the Champ (fingers crossed) he'll be a big asset. My worry is he's too slow.

I think Rugby League may use something like this but it includes all top teams - basically if you win the league you are in the final (or possibly semi?) of the knockout. Winning the league is not as good as winning the Grand Final of the knockout, which is seen as the big prize. As for @CBX1985's suggestion about including a team from the league above - I think this was the case when play-offs first started but it only lasted for the blink of an eye. If you look at the pros and cons of play-offs then, assuming we go up, it's tough on Bolton who then have an equal chance of going up with maybe someone like Blackpool but......something like 9 out of the last day's 12 fixtures still have something riding on them.

Ferguson’s team selection and tactics may be determined by who he would rather play in a play-off final…..us or Bolton. If he’d rather play us then the white flag may be flying high again.

Harvester has sky

Is there prize money for 3rd and 4th place? Neither Bolton or Posh should be bothered about play off opponents and, unless Posh get hammered by Cheltenham, it will be a shootout for 3rd/4th. I thought Posh were in a bit of financial bother so can’t imagine their Chairman would sanction a “can’t be arsed” approach…..if there is prize money that’s worth having.

RTV…….not a sniff of a ticket, even in 5+ category 1Wildsmith 5.……a wonder save and then went to pot. Poor kicks could’ve been due to high wind 35Nelson 8……body on the line. Heroic. 5Bradley 8……see Nelson. And he made sure he was winning headers rather than wrestling, falling over and trying to win free kicks 6Cashin 8….see Nelson 2Wilson 6…..not his finest game. Tried to make things happen but got caught faffing around a couple of times 7Barkhuizen 6….the man for the counter attack. Got in position A for a second but NML too knackered to pick him out 12Smith 5….23 touches in CM. Broke up play in first half, didn’t really see him in the second. 32Adams 6…..very good and involved in the first half. Less of a factor in the second 17Sibley 8…..pass of the season…..and very good all round. Not phased by the yellow card 16Thompson 7……good ratting and gets awkward balls under control and where he wants it to be like a Prem player 8Bird 🦅 6…..OK. Good to see him back 9Collins 7.5……lived on scraps, worked his socks off, held the ball up well and linked well. Not a goal threat but no service 11Méndez-Laing 8……almost back to great form. Never hides a massive shift for the team 10Waghorn 6…..no time Attwell 10….faultless Very good first half, lovely 3 points, horrible 2nd half. Strange post match from PW. Bemoaning the fact that we had no control but didn’t really change tactics or personnel. Everything was a long hoof in the second half……orders? Panic? No options? I like Smith and he works hard to get in good defensive positions but he barely touches the ball……you have to have someone who is brave enough to get on the ball (Hourihane) and tactics to use them to get control - but you then sacrifice something else. I’ll absolutely take 90 mins of aimless hoofball and 0-0 next Saturday…..

Thought he was terrific today. End of.

Tempted to put a fiver on Bolton at 14/1 and a few quid on Posh at 25/1 to at least create a decent sized sorrow-drowning beer fund. I have faith in the team and management to get the job done but, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking that we've had fewer dire, game-changing reffing decisions than last season and unwarranted red cards and pens can still bite (Case study: Sir Curtis @ Sheff Wed). If I were PW, I'd be making loads of noises in the press this week that officials have to be absolutely certain of things before dishing out reds and pens at this stage of the season. I'd be happy fo a no pens and no reds pact for the last two games.

If we go up I think PW will have absolutely earned a crack at the Championship. I’ve enjoyed the season but have been critical of the style of play because I think we’ve got the squad to have got equally good or even better results in league 1 by playing more through the midfield and more on the deck. But…..PW knows what he’s doing. Every game is a battle and we’re very rarely out of a game…..and, conversely, only very occasionally out of sight and cruising. I can only remember Stevenage away where we hadn’t got a sniff of something at the 85+ minute mark. Against Cheltenham, the pragmatism is frustrating. Against Leeds, Notts Forest or Burnley next year, it may be just the right approach to grind enough points for mid table……and far, far less frustrating to watch.

If we go up and PW wants to play 2 in midfield then trying to sign him is a no brainer. imo he’s as good around the pitch as Shinniesta and better in the air. If he’s going to play a 3 and, heaven forbid, try to control games more or play through midfield then it’s less clear cut……but that’s not going to happen. if we go up I’d like an Ebou flying salute T-shirt…..for me that’s the image of the season so far.

ATG 1Wildsmith 6.5…..had almost nothing to do so impossible to get a great score 35Nelson 7……untroubled defensively. Troubled their defence at set pieces 5Bradley 7.5……good goals and solid in defence 6Cashin 7……hands full with their 17 at times. Did very well 2Wilson 7…..so much more of a threat from wingback. I’d have stuck with a back 4 and I’d have been wrong! 12Smith 7……hardly touched the ball and quite a few over hit passes but managed to have a very good game….how does that work? 23Fornah 6….very little time 32Adams 8…..destroyed as per….plus carried the ball with great energy today 10Waghorn 6…. Very little time 17Sibley 8…..my MOTM…..really good going forward and defensively. Better as a wing back but has done admirably in a 4 16 Tommo 7…..wouldn’t have picked him and I’d have been wrong. Team really benefitted from his high pressing 4Hourihane 6….no time….but world’s best sub. Always cajoling and encouraging as he warms up. 9Collins 6.5…..great work rate and some good hold up play. Got very little off the ref 14Washington 6….just on long enough to miss a couple of decent chances! To be fair he worked very hard to get in position to miss them 11Méndez-Laing 7…..much better than of late. Great pressing and work rate 7Barkhuisen 7……with another CF, he’d have had 2 fantastic assists in no time on the pitch. Just the man for counter attacking PW got a lot right today. completely dominated Orient who were pretty toothless. Thought the ref and linesmen were inept. No game changing mistakes but so many errors on throw-ins and corners, free kicks to Orient for next to no contact and then let their defenders pretty much assault Collins on occasions. Completely failed to deal with our time-wasting and then only added on 4 mins. 😉

I think it boils down to two things....possibly three: Whether you think the team is better than its sum parts.......that's what good managers achieve and many don't believe PW hasn't achieved that, despite us being in 2nd place. Is the football good to watch?........I see a lot of snarking at those who are openly critical of the style of play but very few who openly think it's great. But, I get your point. I'm not sure how it works..... but you can enjoy the season and the results without particularly enjoying the football itself. I'm sort of in that position and reasonably confident we'll hold on to 2nd place. The other possibility is that we get very high quality football pumped into our living rooms for the rest of the week and unrealistically expect our squad to play error-free in the same manner. I find Man City quite boring to watch on occasions but the game against Real Madrid was a thriller. City made nearly 700 passes with over 90% completion and their outfield players only played 10 long balls. Last night we made 375 passes with less than 70% completion with 60 long balls by outfield players. Mrs Bat said to me this morning "I know we've got season tickets again and we may get promoted but I can't stand another season of this sh*t" That's where a lot of people are I'm afraid.